Sutcliffe Park - The River Quaggy
02.03.2009
After visiting the Nature reserve in Camden, i visited Sutcliffe Park, which has the Quaggy running through it. It flows from south london through to join the Thames at Greenwich, and sutcliffe park is in Kidbrooke.
Before 2004 the river ran underneath the park in a concrete culvert, but in 2004 QWAG (QWAG is an action group which was set up in 1990, which is responsible for the regeneration and naturalistaion of sections of the river. The group was set up in response to plans to destroy the only natural remaining sections of the Quaggy for a flood alleviation plan.) and the Environment Agency came up with plans to restore the Quaggy to its natural flow above ground as part of a flood alleviation strategy. The ground was lowered to allow for extra water storage at times of heavy rainfall as part of the scheme. The river now meanders through the park with marshy banks creating a new habitat and therefore a thriving ecosystem.
I thought the park was beautiful, and the river made it so. It was unusual and surprising to see what resembled country water meadows in an built up urban suburb.
